State legislators and allied groups will counter Trump’s address to Congress with #FightingForFamilies Week of Action

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, SiX Action joined several national policy and advocacy groups in releasing the following statement ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress:

“In a matter of hours, President Trump will be delivering his address to Congress and laying out his vision for the country. We know that when it comes to the Trump administration, actions speak louder than words, so regardless of what we hear tonight, here is what we can expect over the coming weeks and months: more giveaways to corporate CEOs and the wealthiest 1%, more rollbacks of critical worker protections, and a repackaging of the same failed policies that depress wages and offer no actual path to the middle class for America’s working families.

“Meanwhile, progressives at every level are fighting for a vision that grows the economy by growing the middle class. That’s why this week, in states across the country, legislators and allied groups are holding a #FightingForFamilies Week of Action to advance a progressive economic agenda that raises incomes, supports the creation of good jobs in our communities, provides economic security, and levels the playing field for working families.

“In every corner of the country, state lawmakers are countering President Trump and conservatives with policies that restore overtime protections so corporate CEOs don’t have all the power, ensure women earn equal pay for doing the same work as men, allow all working Americans to earn paid sick time, provide paid family and medical leave, crack down on employers that cheat employees out of their hard-earned pay, ensure health care stays accessible and affordable for everyone, raise the minimum wage so families can afford the basics, and invest in key services like education instead of tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest few. That is how we will guarantee economic security and extend opportunity to all Americans—not by continuing to manipulate the rules to reward only those at the top.”

Additional statements from progressive leaders and policy and advocacy groups participating in the #FightingForFamilies Week of Action:

“As the Trump Administration seeks to roll back environmental protections and deny that climate change exists, state and local leaders are stepping up to drive the next wave of climate policies forward. Many state leaders understand that an attack on the environment is an attack on families and workers living on the frontlines of some of the worst pollution in America. Working together with frontline leaders, California, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, and other states, are advancing policies to create a green economy for all, targeting green economy investments in frontline communities and funding a just transition for impacted workers. This is the kind of leadership we need to see, and the kind our communities deserve.” – Vien Truong, Director, Green For All

“We refuse to stay silent as the millionaires and billionaires in the Trump administration protect their own interests at the expense of working families. We need leaders who will champion policies that make it possible to care for our families without risking our paychecks. That’s why we proudly stand with our partners in #FightingForFamilies and call on our elected leaders in the states to do the work that the Trump administration will fail to do. It’s time to truly support working people and advance paid family leave, affordable child care, equal pay, paid sick days, and a higher minimum wage.” – Tracy Sturdivant, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Make It Work Action

“Despite his campaign rhetoric about siding with working Americans against economic elites, President Trump’s actual agenda includes policies that would do nothing to reverse near-stagnant wage growth and rising inequality: Tax cuts for the rich and corporations, deregulation of finance and worker protections, and assaults on unions would all clearly undercut working Americans’ economic clout, not increase it. Together, these tried and failed policies would just increase the growing share of income that goes to those at the top.” – Lawrence Mishel, President, Economic Policy Institute

“President Trump ran his campaign on a promise to lift up working people, and we will hold him accountable to that promise. Every day, Americans are working harder and longer hours, yet they are still falling behind because our economy favors only a handful of the wealthy few. Now is the president’s chance to show us whether he will support policies that help working people or continue to pursue policies that further throw the economy off balance by stripping hardworking people of the health care they need, the fair wages and benefits they deserve, and rights that protect them under the law.” – Lee Saunders, President, AFSCME

“As Congress and the Trump Administration pursue cuts and damaging policies that will harm families and communities, state policymakers can choose a different course. They can advance smart state policies that offer the potential for states to thrive–such as repealing tax breaks created for the wealthy and corporations and using those funds for schools, hospitals, roads, human services, and other investments essential to communities. In a time of profound divisiveness at the federal level, we see progressives and state policymakers working together to ensure all parents have the resources to care for their children and provide them with the tools to learn and grow, and to build communities where everyone has a warm home, nutritious food, affordable health care, and jobs with good benefits.” – Nick Johnson, Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy, Center on Budget & Policy Priorities

“Tonight, Donald Trump will put a new face on the old Republican “Put Billionaires First” show. It’s a rerun: tax cuts and corporate subsidies paid for by taking food, retirement security, and medicine from people struggling to make ends meet. Trumponomics turns out to be nothing more than the wealthy rigging the rules to take even more of the wealth that families produce.” – Dorian Warren, President, Center for Community Change Action

“Together, through collective action, working families and our communities are standing up against an economy and democracy that have been rigged against us by self-interested politicians in favor of corporations. Through weeks of action like this one, we will fight to win the change our families need: good jobs, affordable healthcare and the opportunity to build a better life for our families.” – Mary Kay Henry, President, SEIU

“All families, no matter where they were born or the color of their skin, should be able to work with dignity and fair compensation, the ability to take a sick day without fear of losing their job, and the guarantees that they will not be discriminated based on what they look like, where they’re from, or who they love. Our communities thrive when all of us have the support we need to thrive.” – Marielena Hincapie, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center

“Today, in more than 50 percent of U.S. households, women are the family breadwinners. Yet we still have to fight for equal pay, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, and a living wage. After years of watching Congress drop the proverbial ball, it’s encouraging to see states step up to the plate on issues impacting the economic security of women and families. Local AAUW members are ready to help push the best bills onto governors’ desks across the country.” – Lisa Maatz, Vice President of Government Relations and Advocacy, American Association of University Women

“As Trump advances his corporate billionaire agenda, we are not only resisting but fighting to improve the lives of our neighbors who are forced to struggle to make it to pay day. Through victories and campaigns in our cities and states, we're advancing a worker-centered agenda that increases workplace rights, confronts corporate giveaways, and protects our communities.” – Nikki Fortunate Bas, Executive Director, The Partnership for Working Families

“Now is a time to be bold and fight for the progress our families, our economy, and the country’s needs. Giving every family a real chance at economic security will boost families and make our country stronger. We do that through sick days, fair wages, paid family and medical leave, quality affordable childcare, healthcare, overtime pay for overtime work, accommodations for pregnant and breastfeeding moms, and an end to discriminatory wage and hiring practices. At a time when moms are half of all primary breadwinners and being a mom is a greater predictor of wage and hiring discrimination than being a woman–with moms of color harmed the most–we need progress in every state toward those goals. There is momentum across the country for this agenda because these measures are good for mothers, families, and our economy. The Week of Action is a powerful way to amplify the momentum and encourage policymakers at every level of government to boldly fight for families!” – Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and Executive Director, MomsRising

“As we face the new national political landscape, 9to5 will continue to bring our communities together and work with allies to organize for the real changes we need to achieve justice and equality for working women and families. We’llmove forward in the states and nationally with our strong proactive policy agenda for workplace fairness, equal opportunity and economic security, while defending existing progressive policies. 9to5 will resist attacks coming from the new administration and those emboldened by it on the people who are most deeply impacted by injustice and inequality–including women, communities of color, immigrants and refugees, workers, people with disabilities, transgender and gender nonconforming people, and queer people. We refuse to normalize hurtful and dangerous policies and rhetoric–we will fight back for working families.” – Linda Meric, Executive Director, 9to5

“Economic justice is about living wages, fair hours, and paid time off. But it is about so much more. At its core, it is about setting priorities and policies that reflect what we value as a nation. Do we strive to be a community or a competing set of interests? A community needs affordable housing, health care, transportation, safety and security, education and culture for all its members equally. Center for Popular Democracy wages campaigns to create strong communities with the agency to win policies that make them stronger and healthier in body and spirit and fortified to implement their vision for a good life for every member. A community-centered education is at the core of these values. That's why CPD works every day to help develop community schools that graduate future creative leaders of their challenging worlds.” Kyle Serrette, Director of Education Justice Campaigns,Center for Popular Democracy

“We cannot make compromises under Donald Trump's vision for America. Our most marginalized communities are vulnerable to his agenda, and we have already seen the impacts with the Muslim ban, immigration raids, and threats on economic and reproductive justice. We will continue to oppose anti-black agendas and conservative attacks on our democracy at the state and local level." – Dante Barry, Executive Director, Million Hoodies Movement for Justice

“Every young person in the richest country in the world deserves the opportunity to attend a great public school in their own neighborhood. Instead of school closings, cuts to arts and special education, and tax breaks for the wealthy to pay for privatizing schemes like vouchers, we stand with families across the country and call for education policy that is driven by a vision of delivering quality education to our nation's young people, and not by billionaires trying to put more money into their own pockets.” – Keron Blair, Director, Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools

“The first few weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency have been a terrifying series of attacks on our rights. From instituting the unconstitutional Muslim ban to intimidating sanctuary cities, to ending much-needed funding for women’s access to reproductive healthcare around the world, each new policy the Trump administration puts forward threatens to set our country back decades and end our transformation into a fairer, more equitable society. Now more than ever, our country needs the skills and talents that Democratic women bring to office to push back against this toxic agenda. Emerge America will continue to do our part to recruit, train, and provide a powerful network to Democratic women across the country. Together, with the help of our partners, I’m confident that we can overcome this affront on our nation and its people.” – Andrea Dew Steele, Founder and President, Emerge America

“States have consistently inspired action by paving the way for progressive policies. Thanks to the hard work of diverse coalitions across the country, nearly 40 million Americans are now guaranteed paid time to care for themselves or a sick loved one; four states and DC have passed paid family leave; and more and more wins are on the horizon. We are proud to join alongside SiX Action and allies across the country to continue to fight for and win victories for America’s workers.” – Wendy Chun-Hoon, Co-Executive Director, FV@W

“Small business owners need federal policies that level the playing field, foster entrepreneurship, and promote consumer demand. But so far, President Trump and his cabinet of insiders and corporate executives have been working to dismantle critical protections for small businesses, like the Affordable Care Act. Small business owners are the backbone of the economy and need a health care system that provides high quality, affordable coverage for everyone.” – Amanda Ballanytne, National Director of Main Street Alliance

“President Trump pledged to stand up to Wall Street and fight for working families, but he's already abandoning that promise. He's working hand-in-hand with congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would cause 30 million Americans to lose affordable health coverage, and make radical changes to Medicaid that could cut care for children, people with disabilities, and seniors. Ensuring access to affordable, quality health care should be the foundation of any economic agenda­–working to undermine Medicaid and repeal the ACA is bad for families and will take our country in the wrong direction.” – Rob Restuccia, Executive Director, Community Catalyst Action Fund

“Donald Trump’s administration is threatening to take the failed trickle-down policies that have hurt American families for decades to the extreme. That’s why it’s so important for state policymakers to lead the way: we must stop corporations and financial firms from rigging the economic system in their favor. States have always been our “laboratories of democracy;” that’s why we support the legislators of SiX Action in their efforts to rewrite the rules of the American economy in order to create good jobs and economic security for all Americans.” – Felicia Wong, President & CEO, Roosevelt Institute

“If our political leaders truly want to guarantee economic security for all families, they need to focus on creating workplaces that work for women and families. When women are paid less than their male counterparts; when they have to fight to care for their families in the face of erratic, inflexible work schedules, low wages, and no paid leave; when they are forced out of work because of their reproductive health decisions, pregnancies, or caregiving responsibilities; and when they can’t access reproductive health care, not only is their own economic well-being threatened but also that of their families and their communities, which increasingly depend on their income. While the new Administration is focused on rewarding only those at the top, state lawmakers across the country and political spectrum are emerging as the real leaders for all American families by passing strong laws that ensure that women can work and raise their families with dignity and stability.” – Emily Martin, General Counsel and Vice President of Workplace Justice, National Women's Law Center

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About SiX Action

SiX Action is a strategy and advocacy organization that is committed to achieving progressive change at the state level, while defending against efforts to move our country backward. Through issue advocacy, support around messaging and political strategy, and engagement with state legislators, progressive leaders, and state and national advocates, we seek to aid in the development and advancement of a progressive agenda in states across the country. SiX Action is working to secure real, lasting reforms that support working families, protect the environment, defend civil rights and liberties, and strengthen our democracy.

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